Principal investigator: Mary L. Hediger, Ph.D.
Because signs may first appear with puberty, polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS) is generally considered a disease of adolescence or adults, but there is increasing evidence that its origins may be earlier and that early signs (e.g., polycystic ovaries [PCO], insulin resistance) may be detectable in childhood. However, there have been no studies in prepubertal and early pubertal girls, at about ages five to eight years that have examined the relationships among ovarian morphology, size, central adiposity, and biomarkers of insulin resistance. It therefore remains to be established whether ovarian enlargement and/or the appearance of PCO precedes, is subsequent to, or is unrelated to the development of insulin resistance, central adiposity (i.e., visceral fat), and dyslipidemia in prepubertal and early pubertal girls.

This project augments the Environmental and Genetic Determinants of Puberty (EGDP) study, conducted through the University of Cincinnati (Children's Hospital Medical Center [CCHMC]) by a research team headed by Dr. Frank M. Biro. The EGDP Study is a cohort study of approximately 450 to 500 elementary school white and African American girls, ages six to seven, followed longitudinally for five years with semi-annual in-school examinations beginning in September 2004. The girls will have semi-annual physical exams (examination rounds) to determine body size, central adiposity, and pubertal status, and for the collection of fasting blood specimens. This project will add a component to develop methods for assessing clinical signs on abdominal ultrasound and biomarkers for the study of the early childhood origins of PCOS. On the sample of approximately 500 six- to seven-year-old girls recruited and measured in the first round of data collection (September-November, 2004), researchers will measure biomarkers of insulin resistance (i.e., fasting serum insulin, plasma glucose, and lipids) and will examine the cross-sectional relationships among adiposity and regional fat distribution, as determined by anthropometry, and indicators of insulin resistance.

In the second year of the EGDP study, for a subsample of 200 prepubertal or early pubertal girls, ages seven to eight years, researchers will measure factors known to be associated with the later development of PCOS on abdominal ultrasound (e.g., PCO, ovarian volume and morphology, visceral fat) and biomarkers (e.g., fasting serum insulin, plasma glucose, and lipids) and to examine the cross-sectional relationships among ovarian size and morphology, adiposity and regional fat distribution, and indicators of insulin resistance. The findings from this project will either serve as a basis or as a pilot to develop a definitive study on the prepubertal and early pubertal biomarkers and clinical signs of PCOS.
 
DESPR Collaborators

· Germaine M. Buck Louis, Ph.D.
· Enrique F. Schisterman, Ph.D.